Blackpool centre for gaming spectacular

Thousands of computer games fans descended on Blackpool for a major exhibition which took gaming to a new level.

Play Expo Blackpool saw the Norbreck Castle taken over by gamers and fans dressed in game character costumes.

Photo Neil Cross'The Play Expo, for retro and modern gaming enthusiasts at Norcolympia Exhibition Centre'Katie Ellwood as Lollipoppy

Fans were able to take part in competitive Super Smash Bros tournaments overseen by Sky Sports eSports presenter Matt Andrews.

Visitors could also attend master classes with industry experts.

Sega artist Duncan Gutteridge talked about his work on various Sonic the Hedgehog projects and showing visitors how to draw this classic character.

They could also have a go in the popular Minecraft zone where hundreds of gamers played the game popular with school age children.

The Museum of Games and Gaming brought its “Why do we play?” exhibition, which charted the history of games playing from the ancient Egyptian Senet right through to the latest 3D video games.

And visitors could also sit in the cockpit of a life sized Formula 1 racing car to “race” around a track in a computer game competition to set the days’ fastest laps.

Many of the visitors dressed up for the event, wearing superhero or computer games character costumes to socialise with friends and play the hundreds of games on display at the Norcalympia centre at the hotel.

Amy Marston of St Annes who was dressed as a character from a Japanese computer game said: “It has been a brilliant weekend. There are so many different games to try and to meet other gamers was great.”